HL Deb 17 November 1994 vol 559 cc2-4WA
Viscount Mersey

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the results of this year's bathing water quality monitoring.

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Viscount Ullswater)

The monitoring carried out during the 1994 season shows that 82 per cent. of the 457 identified bathing waters in the United Kingdom met the mandatory coliform bacteria standards of the EC Bathing Water Directive. This compares with 80 per cent. in 1993, and 79 per cent. in 1992. During the season over 97 per centum. of the 18,000 coliform samples were within, and in most cases well within, the required standards. It is encouraging to see that the continuing improvement in the overall standard of our bathing waters is being maintained. We look forward to further increases in compliance in the near future as more and more schemes in the bathing water improvement programme begin to have an effect. Although we still have some way to go it is especially encouraging that some waters which have repeatedly failed year on year have this season for the first time achieved the EC standards. The main results for the United Kingdom are summarised below with details for English and Welsh bathing waters. This information will be placed in the Libraries of the House today and will be supplemented by a report with more detailed results in due course.

Bathing Waters Survey—1994 Results for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Compliance with Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC): Coliform Standards).
England and Wales NBA Regions Pass Fail Total
Northumbrian1 29(25) 5(9) 34(34)
Yorkshire1 20(21) 2(1) 22(22)
Anglian 27(28) 6(5) 33(33)
Thames 2(3) 1(—) 3(3)
Southern 53(58) 14(9) 67(67)
Wessex1 40(35) 2(7) 42(42)
South West1 111(107) 22(26) 133(133)
North West 24(13) 9(20) 33(33)
Welsh 39(42) 12(9) 51(51)
TOTAL 345(332) 73(86) 418(418)
Scotland 16(18) 7(5) 23(23)
Northern Ireland 15(15) 1(1) 16(16)
GRAND TOTAL 376(365) 81(92) 457(457)
(Results for 1993 are in brackets)
1 Northumbrian and Yorkshire, and South West and Wessex NRA Regions have amalgamated, but results are recorded separately here for the purposes of comparison.